Good Friday

Thank you, Jesus, for your great, perfect love that kept you up on the cross, for I know it wasn't the nails. Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me - and all people - as your beloved treasure that you would do ANYTHING to spend eternity with me. I find myself saying with the psalmist, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." (Ps 139:6)

What am I, Lord, that you would suffer and die for the wretched sinner I am? I certainly can't begin to understand what I mean to you, or understand your love - as Paul says your love "surpasses understanding." (Eph 3:19) I know it is only by faith that I can trust in your love and sacrifice to wash me whiter than snow and allow me entrance into paradise eternal.

Today, Jesus, grant me the faith to grasp how wide and long and high and deep your love is. Break me of my sinfulness, of my pride and self-righteousness. Let me lay it all at your cross and be washed in your blood. Then plant your seed of joy to replace my guilt, that I might celebrate like never before the freedom I have in you this Easter. Amen!

Access to God!

When the curtain in the temple that leads to God’s presence is torn at Jesus’ death we have access to God. We have access in a way that even the high priest in Old Testament times did not have. We can talk to God anytime we want and he will listen. God even encourages us to talk to Him frequently, often, constantly even. To have the ear of the most powerful, the most loving of all by a long shot is a huge benefit. If the President of the United States or even a senator or congressman would listen to everything you had to say, you would have influence.

It’s much better having God’s ear. He is so much more powerful. He is so much wiser. But for another reason it is so good to be able to come into God’s presence. He is love. To be able to live closely with God, to tell him what’s on our heart even when we don’t want or need something, but to have someone who dearly loves us and dearly loves to talk with us is so wonderful.

Why don’t we take more joy in that? Like the spouse who was so excited to date that guy or gal in the first place, but now having received what was desired, now takes the spouse for granted, now spends less and less time together, and finds more reasons to be apart. God’s love for us never fails, though our love for God is not always so ardent. God delights in our presence, whether or not we appreciate Him or our ability to be close to Him. Delight in God as He delights in you.

Thanks, Jesus, for being open to us. Give us joy in your presence. Amen.

Calling Elijah

 Mark 15:35-36 ³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” ³⁶ One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

The anticipation is so great right now.  During this Holy Week, I am anticipating the Easter celebration so much.  I am looking forward to celebrating what Christi has done for me...that he has never turned his back on me, even though I deserved it.  It is amazing that God the Father turned his back on his son, who did nothing wrong, yet he never turns his back on me.  

It is so difficult sometimes, when we deal with those who have wronged us, not to turn our backs on them.  In our sin, we often hold grudges, or gossip, or simply ignore those who have wronged us.  When I remember though, the sufferings of Christ, a perfect and innocent sacrifice, I am humbled and convicted.  How dare I act so righteous as to think I can withhold forgiveness from someone.  

Jesus, thank you for being willing to lay down Your life for me.  Amen.

The Price Is Paid!

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34 (NIV)

Have you ever seen a little child who gets separated in a store from his or her parents and become panicky. Maybe you have been that child. An emptiness fills you and is replaced by fear, even terror. In addition to the physical pain of the cross, in addition to the mental and emotional anguish of bearing the penalty of your sins and mine, Jesus is forsaken and deserted not only by His followers, His disciples, but by His Heavenly Father—true, pure HELL.

Jesus is forsaken in order that you and might never be forsaken. I can hear the torment in His scream: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus is forsaken by His Father in order that you and I might be remembered.

Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You for taking my place on the cross. May I never forget or minimize what You went through for me and for all.

Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV)

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

God’s Wrath Unleashed

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Mark 15:33 (NIV)

The unthinkable is happening for three long hours darkness covers the whole land. We can presume that this darkness is the result of God the Father unleashing His wrath upon His Son making “Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). When I to imagine this darkness I imagine a darkness that one can almost feel. It is an eerie and unsettling darkness that leaves one cold, chilled to the bone. It is in these hours that Jesus is making atonement for you and for me, bearing our punishment – yours and mine.

Jesus, what can we say, but “THANK YOU!” Help me/us “In view of Your mercies to offer myself as a living sacrifice…” (Romans 12:1) that I/we might “live a life worthy of my calling.” (Ephesians 4:1)

Prove Yourself, Then We’ll Believe

Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Mark 15:32 (NIV)

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." Luke 23:35-39 (NIV)

As Jesus innocently hung on the cross in great agony and tremendous pain for your sins and for mine, with people sneering at Him, taunting Him, daring Him to come down from the cross, how tempting it must have been to do so and proof once and for all that He was exactly who He said He was – “the Christ of God, the Chosen One,” the Savior. He had every right to come down and it certainly was in His power to come down, but if He had come down He would no longer have been the Christ, the Savior.

Jesus’ nature and character is love. In Jesus’ God became love incarnate—love in the flesh. Jesus’ nature and character required Jesus to take the insults and endure the pain. Being love in the flesh He could do nothing less. Jesus would not and did not compromise Himself to save Himself. Jesus would not betray Himself and in not betraying Himself He did not betray us—instead He saved us!

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)

…God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:8-10 (NIV)

Jesus, thank You being love in the flesh. Thank You for not betraying Yourself and in the process not betraying me. Thank You for proving Yourself to be the Savior, our Savior, my Savior by staying on cross rather than coming down from it.

Save Yourself!

The chief priests and scribes who mocked Jesus as he hung on the cross were beyond blood thirsty. The absolute disgust and hatred they exhibited in their words and actions is hard to miss when reading the account of Jesus' trial and crucifixion. Why so much hatred towards this man who miraculously healed and fed people, blessing and befriending those he encountered? To put it somewhat simply, the religious leaders were feeling seriously threatened by Jesus' actions and even more so by the message he was sending. Everything they held dear, including their position among the Jews, could be lost if they allowed Jesus to continue.

In Psalm 1 we are warned not to "sit in the seat of mockers". When talking about that Psalm with my young daughters I shared with them that a "mocker" is someone who teases and says mean things to someone to make that person feel bad. I also shared that the mocker does this usually because he wants to feel as though he is better than the person he is mocking. Certainly this was some of the dynamic going on in today's passage.

So what does this have to do with me? With you? I'm sure we haven't ever been caught outright "mocking" our Lord. But might we at times act as though we are "better than" the call of the cross which would ask us to die to ourselves that Christ might live in us? Don't we sometimes think or act as though we know better than God does? Don't we keep some excuses and rationales as to why we ought do things our way? When I do that I think it is a form of mocking our faith and relationship with Jesus.

Praise be to Him that he DID NOT save himself so that we could be saved! Thank you, Jesus, for all that you endured on the cross that I might gain life eternal with you.